Native Windows (Boot Camp) vs Mac OS X

[Meowgo]

Likely true, but is every Steam game better running on native Windows (Bootcamp on Macbook) than on Mac OS? If so, why? If not, what are the exceptions?

My friend says it would depend on the game and whether it's a SteamPlay game on SteamWorks, and that it'd depend on how a 3rd party ported the game to Steam. Any experiences out there that could be evidence to favor one OS over the other (on Macbooks)?

[Ariska]

In my experience, evey game that is on both OS X and Windows run just as well on either (MBP 13" Intel HD 4000 GPU). However, the Steam experience is going to be much smoother on Windows vs OS X. I have a giant issue with using a controller and Steam Big Picture not going fullscreen on the Mac side of my computer, but this issue is non-existant when I switch to Windows side.

[ShadowPeo]

To be honest I have never tried with steam on OSX, simply because most games are "designed" for a Windows environment, and I figure its better to use what its designed for rather than what its ported to. Having said that, if its done properly there should be no issues with the games,

[eternallyNot]

I have been playing all games on OSX until the summer sale convinced me to pick up a couple Windows only games. Most of the games I have played work smoothly on OSX. There have been one or two exceptions, but those prompted me to start reviewing forums before purchasing.

I am running a 27" iMac. Games that support it have run smoothly in 2560x1440 mode without tearing, no performance issues or anything else I am aware of. If they are better on Windows I wouldn't know. If I don't run into problems and they look and run great then I don't know what I could be missing. A few games actually had better 64 bit support on OSX than Windows (I was surprised), per some release notes and forum posts.

Your mileage may vary depending on what you play. Generally speaking, if it is a game available on PS3/4 then I play consoles first. So, most of my selections are personal computer only games - early access, indie, etc...

The Steam video problem is annoying, but I learned not to full screen anymore. A concession on my part. Usually if a game intrigues me enough from the Steam trailer I check out gameplay / Let's Play videos in Safari anyway. The big picture and user video problems are the only Steam issues I have had, so it is not a big deal for me.